Outside of Equestria lie many lands, strange and exotic. Places where creatures of all shapes and sizes dwell, where great kingdoms once stood, only the broken ruins, claimed by wilderness, stand testament to their passing. Within their dead forgotten halls are held many treasures rare, beautiful, and mystical. Many search for them, though few succeed. And amongst those brave and stalwart few, is one without peer. One known to the world as Daring Do, explorer and treasure hunter extraordinare.
An explorer and treasure hunter who found herself far far away from familiar lands and the saftey of her home of Equestria. She found herself deep within the island jungles that had no name and were marked on the map simply as “Danger” and were claimed by no ruler. A land where the plants grew thick, the heat and humidity made it feel as though one were trying to hike through a sauna, the jungle floor covered in rotting vegetation and mud from recent rains that stuck to your hooves making for a very uncomfortable trip. A trip made on behalf of a wealthy benefactor for cryptic reasons, that she would have turned down, if not for the nagging curiousity in her mind driving her to accept, supported by a bank account that was starting to look as thin as a Fillydelphia orphan.
Sweat ran down her neck increasing her discomfort. The heat and humidity of the jungle contributed certainly but the immediate cause of the rivulets was the surge of adrenaline that comes from when one’s life is in immediate peril.
Peril of the sort that Daring Do, despite its frequency, disliked greatly. Adventure was one thing, but fleeing with certain death close behind was getting old. She ran through the thick jungle, jumping and weaving through the ropy vines and huge roots that threatened to trip her up. What she would give to be able to fly, but the canopy was an even more precarious option, and her wings were still not up to their full dexterity after her crash during her adventure to secure the Sapphire Stone.
She risked a look over her shoulder as she ran, and was rewarded with the tree immediately in front of her exploding as a shining bolt struck it with a sharp crack of magical energy. She reflexively made a quick turn to avoid the shower of splinters and her hoof found itself caught in a loop of tree root causing her to tumble end over end down a previously unseen incline.
As she righted herself she found that should could not stop her descent, the slipperiness of the plants and muck of the jungle floor and the steepness caused her to slide downwards with increasing speed. Her pursuers send more bolts of energy chasing after her but they missed their marks, sending plumes of smoke and dirt into the air and into Daring’s face, stinging her eyes.
As she wiped clean her eyes, she first heard and then saw the raging waters of a river ahead, water whipping violently against rocks that threatened to dash her to bits. In a moment of panic she tried fruitlessly to crawl her way back up the way she came, her hooves failing to find purchase. She then began flapping her wings trying to get some kind of altitude, but mud hampered her attempt followup by a cramp in the old wing injury finalizing the failure. Seeing the cause lost, she held onto her helmet, took a breath, and closed her eyes.
The waters comparitive coolness to the oppressive heat of the jungle hit her like a hammer and she gasped taking in not only air but water before being dragged under by the furious current, her body slamming painfully into the jagged rocks. In what felt like an eternity, knowing only the churning of the water in her ears, the pain in her body from impacts and lacerations, and the burning agony in her chest as her lungs screamed for air.
Suddenly the churning stopped and she breathed in a harsh gasp, her mind greatful for these salvations before her body informed her that she was suddenly under gravity’s care, and it decided that remaining airborne was not in the game plan. She madly flapped her wings trying to stay aloft but to no avail as she plummeted screaming to the roiling foam below.
Consciousness came in flashes puncuated by darkness. One moment she was underwater, the next she was above, the next Daring could feel the warmth of sand. She pulled herself out of the water, her mane dangling in front of her eyes, a hot stream of red streak down one side of her vision blurring things further.
A patch of blue. Not like the sky. Different blue. It appeared, then fade, appeared, and faded again, the sounds of the jungle giving way to a new sound. A harsh wheezing, groaning sound that increased in
volume as the blue shape gained solidity.
Darkness came again. In the corner of her mind she was aware of voices. One strangely accented. The other somehow familiar.
Somepony was shaking her. The darkness eased up a little and she slowly opened her eyes, the light feeling painful. She was looking up at two faces, concern readily apparent. One belonged to a stallion, brown maned with blue eyes. The second was a grey mare with blonde mane and golden eyes.
Eyes that didn’t seem to be looking at the same thing.
“Daring? Are you ok? What happened?” The mare said excitedly.
“Ditzy?” Daring croaked in reply.
“Yes its me, Daring! Its Ditzy!” she said, her eyes glistening with tears of worry.
“And I thought today couldn’t get any stranger.” Daring chuckled before a hacking cough took its place. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going back to sleep now.”
“Daring! Daring! Stay with me!” She shouted shaking her hard.
“Darn it Ditzy, leave me alone!” She tried weakly swatting Ditzy away, her grogginess gradually slipping away and was replaced by a sudden awareness of all of her injuries. She winced, sucking air through her teeth making a sharp hiss, and then groaned loudly as she tried to sit up. As she started to take stock of a her surroundings, she had a sudden thought that overrode any other concerns.
“Where’s my hat?”